Wow -thanks for all your comments yesterday clearing up the confusion I had over the Athena/weight classifications on races – I had no idea!  You guys are so smart. šŸ˜€

Guess who got up and went to the gym yesterday?  Yep, my 101 Day Challengers know that I wanted to swim twice this week and run a 5k outside.  I was happy when I walked by the pool on my way to the locker room that there were three lanes open – woot!

I just decided to go slow and steady.  Like running outside, I tend to go too fast, and then have to stop.  I am happy to say that other than adjusting my goggles a couple times, I was able to swim for 40 minutes without stopping.  And then I hit the hot tub, and then the eucalyptus steam room.  What a great way to start the day. šŸ˜€

And I put on make up and fixed my hair – who am I?!  I had my lunch packed in my car in a cooler, but decided I’d pick up McDonald’s oatmeal for breakfast – I accessorized it by adding 1/2 a sliced banana and an ounce of my homemade granola – a delicious, albiet sweet, and filling breakfast for 10 points.

With weather in the low 70’s, it was impossible not to ride my bike at lunch.  Another 50 minutes of working out and about 8 miles total.  šŸ˜€ I was hungry when I got back.  One of the dishes I made for my SIL and me this week was Rocco diSpirito’s Super-light Mexican chili con carne with beans.  While I do think my Best Buffalo Chicken Chili is better, this one was good – especially when I added cherry peppers to my bowl. šŸ˜€

Rocco’s Super-Light Mexican Chili Con Carne with Beans

  • 7 PointsPlus per cup

Ingredients:

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, diced fine (left out)
  • 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped (I added this)
  • One 28 ounce can plum tomatoes with juice
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 12 ounces ground turkey (I used 12 ounces ground chicken breast)
  • One 14 ounce can black beans, drained
  • 1 cup shredded 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese, such as Cabot (I used 3/4 an ounce of real cheese in bowl, same point value)

Here are my quick cooking instructions.  Add garlic, peppers, tomatoes with juice, chili powder and cumin.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the peppers are soft.  I then pureed the mixture, added the ground chicken and black beans and cooked an additional 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.   I had mine with 3 points of tortilla chips and mixed in zero point spaghetti squash for a super filling 11 Points Plus lunch. šŸ˜€

Because the spaghetti squash was kinda watery, it turned out to be kind of like what Rachael Ray calls a stoup – a cross between a soup and a stew – delicious!

I knew I bought scallops for a reason over the weekend, but for the life of me I couldn’t find the recipe I originally wanted.  So I made one up!  I knew I had polenta in my pantry – Tony loves it, and while I would have loved a spicy red sauce to go over the top, this was delicious just the way it was.  And each serving is only 11 PointsPlus!

Seared Scallops and Shrimp over Parmesan Polenta

  • 2 servings, 11 PointsPlus per serving

Ingredient:

  • 3/4 pound sea scallops (ours were big 6 scallops was 3/4 pound!)
  • 10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 8 tablespoons polenta
  • 2 cups water
  • generous pinches of salt and pepper
  • 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 zucchini, sliced

Pat the shrimp and scallops dry and generously salt and pepper.

Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil.  While that’s going, heat a small saute pan with Pam and add zucchini – cook for 5 minutes, or until they start to brown.  Set aside.

When the water boils, add the polenta, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.  While its super smooth at this point, when it starts to cool it thickens up.  Once you remove the polenta off the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese, and leave in the pot to keep warm.

Now bring a skillet to a super high heat – add oil and then sear the shrimp – I put my garlic on top so it doesn’t burn and toss the shrimp after I turn them to coat.  These only take about 2-3 minutes to cook – put on a plate and cover to keep warm.

Take a sharp knife and cut the top of one side of the scallops to make hatch marks – add another teaspoon of oil to the pan and put this side down first.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side depending on the size of your scallops – I was close to 4 minutes total.

Plate half the polenta on the plate, put scallops and shrimp along the top and add the grilled zucchini.

Hopefully that makes sense – can you tell I don’t write recipes much?!

Be sure to use lose polenta, not the premade polenta in a roll in the Italian aisle.

Since the only real seasoning is salt and pepper (and garlic) generously season the shrimp and scallops.

Here is the final dish – holy shizz this was tasty!

Yep, this one is a keeper!

Stats for Tuesday:

  • 40 minute swim
  • 20 minute hot tub/steam room
  • 50 minute bike ride šŸ˜€
  • 34 points
  • average blood sugar 117

Come back tomorrow for a new blueberry scone recipe – I haven’t figure out the points exactly yet, but I think it will be around 6 points – with the lemon glaze!  Make it a great day!